The invention is particularly adapted to the electrical feed of an urban public transportation vehicle on a fixed guideway with electric propulsion. This vehicle being either of the rail or tire type. However, the invention is not limited to this preferred application.
This type of electrical propulsion or traction vehicle is normally supplied with energy by above-ground cables or catenaries set out above its traffic lanes.
However, the current trend is, for aesthetic or other reasons, to get rid of these electrified aerial lines and replace them by feed systems at ground level or by buried lines.
We are thus confronted with a major safety problem. In fact, these vehicles require for their feed, a continuous current at relatively high voltage which can be extremely dangerous for human beings.
The system for collecting electrical energy at ground level must therefore of necessity be protected so as to render impossible a voluntary or accidental contact with the feed conductors and the polar parts, and thus ensure the safety of passengers, pedestrians, other users of the roadway or personnel in the case of a plant car.